Host a ’90s-Style Hangout
The Touch Grass Challenge Let’s log off and head outside. Week 4 Get Creative Welcome to week three of our monthlong summer challenge! If you’ve been with us so far, you’ve been taking device-free walks…
Apple scrambles to handle component price hikes
To grow, or to grow less? The PC industry is not growing (outside of Cupertino), and Apple and its investors already know that the inordinately high customer satisfaction ratings its platforms enjoy mean that when people…
Your GPS Lies in Cities. Scientists Finally Fixed It
GPS often struggles in cities because skyscrapers reflect and block satellite signals, leading to inaccurate locations. A new system called SmartNav tackles the problem with advanced corrections and 3D city modeling, delivering near-centimeter-level precision. Credit:…
The UK Will Scan Asylum-Seekers’ Faces for Age Checks—Despite Knowing the Tech Is Flawed
While the Home Office says face scanning is designed to be an “additional” tool for border officers and won’t “replace or overrule human judgment,” it did not answer questions about how it plans to use…
Anthropic Fable dispute suggests ‘export’ no longer means what it used to
“The reference to deemed exports is important, because traditionally that would apply to source code, technology, or technical knowledge being transferred,” he said. “In this case, the thing crossing borders is not necessarily the model…
This Strange Crystal Bends Light Like Nothing Else in Nature
Artist’s illustration of MoOCl2, whose unusual optical response allows light to be steered very differently depending on direction. The study found one of the strongest reported light-bending effects for a natural material in the visible…
‘Dangerous’ AI Models Are Coming No Matter What
Late last week, Anthropic took its new Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models offline following a United States government export-control directive barring “any foreign national” from using the services. The company has been…
Leak Exposes Members of Peter Thiel’s Secretive ‘Dialog’ Society
What ties the roster together more than any title or office is a shared preoccupation with artificial intelligence, longevity, and the near future. Asked on a sign-up form to predict the future, registrants returned again…
ChatGPT will soon be able to shop with your Visa card
OpenAI has signed a partnership agreement with Visa that allows the company’s AI agents to use the payment card for e-commerce transactions. The agreements lets users shop for everything from groceries and diapers to airline…
Battery-Free Artificial Photosynthesis Turns Sunlight, Water, and CO2 Into Fuel
The artificial photosynthesis system produces formic acid from carbon dioxide and water. The right image shows the group’s unique electrolyzer. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University A self-regulating artificial photosynthesis system makes solar fuel without batteries, offering…